ALEXANDER: Reign’s Stretch gets taste of AHL

ONTARIO â" The first call came Jan. 20. Center C.J. Stretch, having a breakout year with the Ontario Reign, was summoned to the American Hockey Leagueâs Houston Aeros and signed to a Professional Tryout contract. He played three games, then was sent back to Ontario.

The second call came Feb. 1. Heâd come back to Ontario and played three games when the Aeros asked for him again because of roster shuffling by the parent Minnesota Wild. That time Stretch played four AHL games, had one goal disallowed, scored a game-winner in a shootout, then was â" again â" sent back to Ontario.

The third call came Saturday.

An up and down year that has brought the 22-year-old from Irvine closer to his NHL dream continued when Stretch was again recalled by Houston on Saturday morning.

Houston coach John Torchetti hinted as much earlier in the week, when he said, âHeâll probably get another opportunity for us shortly. The trade deadlineâs coming up.â

It helps to have a flexible lease.

âYou never know if youâre going to get called up or sent down,â Stretch said before Saturdayâs move. âSo youâve just got to keep battling and work hard and get better every day, so hopefully they call you up. Next year I want to start out in the AHL and try and get a one-way (contract), but you canât really think too far ahead.â

Stretch, in his second season with the Reign had 20 goals and 28 assists through 44 games in the ECHL, including two assists in Friday nightâs 4-3 victory over Colorado. And through his time in the AHL, as well as a week and a half in the Kings training camp last fall, he has raised his professional profile considerably.

âHeâs a really skilled player, good with the puck, with really good hockey sense on where to go to certain spots in the offensive zone,â said Torchetti in a telephone conversation prior to the recall. âAnd he makes good passes. Iâd probably like to see him shoot a little bit more.

âHeâs close to playing at this level fulltime. â¦ It was just a numbers game here.â

Itâs a story that is becoming more typical than you might think, the saga of the California kid who starts with roller hockey, then transfers his skills and passion to the ice and moves up the ranks.

Stretch played on youth teams in Anaheim, and at 16 left Orange County to play major junior hockey with the Kamloops (B.C.) Blazers of the WHL. In his final two seasons in Kamloops, he scored 29 goals at age 19 and 30 goals at age 20.

The latter was good enough to get him a one-game tryout with Ontario at the end of the 2009-10 season. He scored a goal in that game, then joined the Reign full-time last season â" really â" but had just nine goals and 12 assists in 46 games.

âHe didnât really play much last year, he said,â said Reign coach Jason Christie, who took over for Karl Taylor in August. âI respect him, because the day I got the job, he came in here. He drove 45 minutes to come over here for 15 minutes. That showed me a lot. The kid wanted to be here.â

His time in the Kings training camp in El Segundo, hanging around guys like Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, was an eye-opener.

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